There is an article posted on the blog BiosLifeSlimOnline that reviews the findings of a recent study in the Journal of the AMA about a 13 year study that followed over 8,000 adolescents to see whether those who were obese as children were overweight as adults. Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

I liked the article because it once again emphasized how hard it is to lose weight at any age. It also is a reminder that early intervention is very important with teenagers. Their weight problems not only will linger into adulthood, but also are likely to continue and even worsen as the years go by. This fact is probably no surprise to anyone.

The surprise was how many continue or become severely obese by the end of the study if they started out in the obese category. 703 or just under 8% of the teens slipped into the severely overweight category as adults. This meant gaining 80 - 100 pounds over their ideal weight. No wonder the chilhood obesity statistics are such a serious matter!

These teenagers who continue to have such obesity problems as adults will develop heart diease, high cholesterol, hypertension and a whole host of other problems at a much younger age then we have seen before.

This generation of young adults are likely not to live as long as their parents if nothing is done to stop the trend. Intervention really starts at the level of the family. The parents have to be taught healthy cooking, and how to shop for their overweight teens. You can read the article to get the details of the study.

CertifiedNursingAssistant.org

Technorati Tags: childhood obesity statistics, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity in children, severe obestiy

An interesting story has been circulating on the health blogs, and on National Public Radio the past couple of days about overweight kids and high cholesterol. Actually, Federal researchers found kids with obesity three times more likely to have high cholesterol.  This ought to come as no surprise, since the two conditions are closely linked.

But what to do about it?  We all are aware of the serious and growing obesity problem in our kids. More exercise and a better diet consisting of less fast foods and more balance with those green things called vegetables.

Getting our kids to follow these suggestions is the hard part, even when the parents have done the right shopping and have the right choices available. “There’s nothing to eat in this house” translated from kid talk probably means nothing I care to eat.

Starting with the kids early is key, teaching them to eat (and like) a variety of foods sometimes takes persistence. It’s important to insist on daily exercise and if at all possible getting them involved in team activities on a regular basis.

Interestingly, Unicity’s Bios Life Slim* has been shown to be effective as a natural alternative to statin drugs, and is both safe and effective in older children and teenagers. It is always best to use all natural means–diet, exercise, natural supplements before turning to prescription medications, such as statin drugs. Of course, there will be cases where the cholesterol or lipid level is very high and must be brought down quickly.

* We do have a relationship with Womens Health Shoppe. We make money if you decided to purchase the product.

Technorati Tags: bios life slim, high cholesterol in children, kids high cholesterol, obese kids

High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol

Heart attack is the leading cause of death not only in the United States but in the entire world. It kills twice as many people than the 2nd leading cause of death, which is cancer. Heart disease is also known as the silent killer because it happens suddenly with no fair warning. More than 50% of people who die of cardiac causes have no history of heart disease because sudden cardiac death is the most common cardiac sign. According to the National Institute of health high blood pressure should be a priority concern of over 65 million Americans. That is over 1 in 3 Americans. This statistic is even higher if you’re African American. This statistic is also directly linked to the fact that 62% of Americans are overweight or obese. If you are overweight or obese you probably have high blood pressure or cholesterol and don’t even know it. High cholesterol oxidizes in your arteries and forms plaque, which blocks blood flow, which leads to a heart attack.

In addition to exercising on a regular basis and eating foods low in trans fats and cholesterol, there are many all natural ingredients you can take to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. First you should know there is a three step process to lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure and there are all natural ingredients out there that are clinically proven to assist in all 3 of these steps, which can reduce the use of statins and drugs. Below is the 3 step process and its assisting all natural ingredients.

1) Prevent Cholesterol Absorption - It is common sense to eat less high fatty foods and eating fresh fruits and vegetables to reduce cholesterol absorption. Of course no matter what you do you will still eat food that has cholesterol therefore you should take Phytosterol to help your body to absorb much less cholesterol. Phytosterols are also called plant sterols, which are a group of steroid alcohol, photochemical naturally occurring in plants. They are white powders with mild, characteristic odor insoluble in water and soluble in alcohols. They have many applications as food additives and in medicine and cosmetics. Phytosterol have a very similar molecular structure as cholesterol therefore it mimics cholesterol in the digestive tract and blocks cholesterol from being absorbed. In this way your body absorbs less cholesterol therefore less cholesterol enters the bloodstream and the unabsorbed cholesterol passes through your body as waste. By lowering cholesterol absorption you help prevent the risk of heart attack.

2) Preventing Plaque Build Up - The second step to lowering cholesterol is to prevent it from oxidizing in the arteries and forming plaque since Plaque is what makes high cholesterol deadly. There are several all antioxidants, which are great for preventing LDL cholesterol from forming plaque. Grape Seed, Grape Skin, Bilberry Extract, Quercetin, and Gingko Baloba are all flavenoids found in certain grapes and berries which naturally prevent plaque formation, which lowers cholesterol levels. Gingko Baloba comes from a 4000 year old ancient plant which also helps to prevent blood platelet activity.

3) Break up Plaque Build Up - Of course after you reduce cholesterol absorption and reduce cholesterol oxidation which forms plaque, you’ll still have some plaque build up that needs to be broken up. Not only does plaque build up cause heart disease but it also causes damage to arteries. Omega 3 fish oil has many properties, but two of the most important properties in relation to heart health is that it breaks up plaque build up, helps your body absorb more phytosterols, helps increase HDL cholesterol levels, reduces tryglyceride levels, increases blood flow to the heart as well as the brain for better memory function and many other benefits not related to heart health.

In addition to lowering cholesterol there are 4 all natural ingredients that help lower high blood pressure

Tripeptides - Tripeptides are derived from cutured milk and were discovered in the early 1900s by Japanese scientist. Nearly a century of research led to the patented process of isolating the tripeptides that help maintain healthy blood pressure. A potent therapeutic dose of these tripeptides has been shown to protect the artery wall.

Passionflower - A creeping perennial vine, recognized for its natural stress relieving and relaxing abilities.

Potassium - Potassium is an element critical to helping your body maintain the proper balance of potassium and sodium necessary for optimum heart and blood vessel health

Pomegranate - Pomegranate is a powerful antioxidant, and has been shown to possess stress-relieving properties, A three year study found that pomegranate helps promote healthy blood flow.

Your heart is the most important muscle in your body and your body can’t live without it. Start taking the right nutrients today and make heart disease beg for mercy. All of these ingredients are clinically proven and not based on folklore and home remedies. All of these ingredients are on the FDA approved ingredients list as well as being approved by the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). For more information about these all natural ingredients as well as quality supplements and other ways to lower your High blood pressure and Cholesterol, call Toll Free 1-877-210-3216

Jawaune H. Saad
http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/how-to-naturally-lower-high-blood-pressure-and-cholesterol-116535.html

Two women who have suffered from heart attacks discuss the problem of doctors misdiagnosing women, who have symptoms that differ from men.

Duration : 0:2:35

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Technorati Tags: cardiologist, cardiology, diagnosis, disease, heart, heart disease, medical, men, misdiagnose, Nancy Snyderman, National Wear Red Day, symptoms of heart attack, women

My mother in law needs to lower her cholesterol, she’s 59, and afraid to take the prescription drugs because of side effects.

Are there any specific foods she could or should eat?

She’s already stopped eating cheese and fatty meats, but is there any other foods really high in cholesterol that isn’t widely known that she she also avoid?

Some one mentioned flaxseed oil, does that really work?

Flax seed is supposed to work but I haven’t ever heard of a doctor recommending it. Cut back on eggs or just eat the whites. As cheesy as it sounds, have her eat Cheerios once a day to lower her cholesterol because this does work.

Most of it is not over the counter remedies, but rather diet changes. Less fat, sugar, and sodium

A shocking new study from the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reports that almost one in five American four-year-olds is obese. We’re not just talking about baby fat, but a national problem of epidemic proportions!

All kids should be gaining weight as they grow older, but extra pounds–more than what’s needed to support normal growth and development– is very unhealthy for your child. Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that we normally think of as adult diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. And this is just the short list. Many more health problems also are linked to obesity.

Causes of Childhood Obesity

 Many things can contribute to your child being overweight.  Here are a few:

•  Diet—eating fast foods, lots of snacks low in nutrition but high in calories, soft drinks, candy and desserts
•  Watching too much TV—well, it’s more than just TV.  An inactive lifestyle like TV, video games, internet surfing, Facebook time, talking with friends on the phone.  Does this all sound familiar?  None of these activities will burn off calories
• Genetics—unfortunately this counts.  If Mom and Dad are overweight and genetically tend have more body fat, then the children will have the tendency too. This is made worse by an environment where physical activity isn’t encouraged.
•  Psychological factors—some children may overeat to cope with problems. They may see their parents do it, and think it’s the thing to do.
•  Family factors they can’t control—such as eating what’s in the cupboard.  Most kids don’t do the grocery shopping. Putting healthy foods in the kitchen and controlling access to sweets, candy and other high calorie snacks is key.

Life is tough enough, but being an obese child can be crushing. Overweight children are subject to social isolation, bullying, low self esteem, and depression. However we do find when a child loses weight these negative trends can improve dramatically.

It’s hard, if not impossible for the child to go it alone. The best solution for you, your child, and your whole family is eating healthier (and less) foods, increasing physical activity, and by providing healthier foods and snacks.

Your commitment to helping your child make the needed changes is very important.  Changing eating habits is hard and will take time.

A recent study showed that weight loss can be socially contagious. If one person (like the parent) takes the initiative to start a healthier lifestyle it can have a ripple effect throughout the family. It can increase the chances that children and the spouse will trim down too.

So do your child a favor and start the process today.  The alternative is a lifetime of increased medical problems  that start earlier than normal and end up having a real impact on overall life expectancy.

Technorati Tags: child obesity, childhood obesity, diabetes, heart disease, lower cholesterol